After being held for several Parliaments (taking together various predecessor areas) by Conservatives, since 1997 the seat has been held by Liberal Democrats. The majority in 1997 was the most marginal of that election, since which, the majority of 2,029 in 2005 has been the lowest to date.

Consisting almost entirely of coastal towns and villages, the constituency has a range of shopping, tourist and visitor facilities from Paignton Zoo, safe bathing and boating to mini-golf, as well as a few nearby luxury resorts. Perhaps owing to the seasonal rise in employment, workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly higher than the national average of 3.8%, at 5.0% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[3]

The seat is home to the Plainmoor football ground, home to Torquay United. Current MP Adrian Sanders is a notable supporter of his local side.